Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday - 20th February 2024
Abbot Paul • February 19, 2024
​Yesterday Toby and I went home to my mother’s so that we could celebrate her 97th birthday, albeit five days after the event. As I have to be present at a church maintenance/health and safety meeting on Cardiff on my 77th birthday in two days’ time, we had a joint celebration. In fact, we simply had lunch as usual, though more delicious than ever, and after a short siesta, I took Toby for a walk on the beach. It was a lovely afternoon, calm, peaceful and reflective, and there was so much to thank to good Lord for. My heart was filled with love and gratitude for all the many blessings he has bestowed on me and on my mother throughout our lives and especially at the present moment. I can’t think of another moment in my life when I have felt so loved by God: it’s quite an overwhelming experience.​
One of the things that most fascinated his disciples about Jesus was his life of prayer. In addition to going to synagogue like all good Jews on the Sabbath and taking part in the various family gatherings for prayer at home, Jesus loved to go off, often alone, to some lonely place and there spend the night in prayer, in intimate communion with his heavenly Father. At times. three of his disciples would accompany him, usually Peter, James and John. It’s not surprising, then, that they asked him to teach them how to pray; they wanted to pray like Jesus. There are, of course, as many ways of praying as there are people, and each one of us has to discover his or her own way of being with God in prayer. I can’t pray like you and you can’t pray like me, which is why books on prayer can be a hindrance rather than a help! But what does Jesus have to say? What does he teach his disciples? Our Gospel passage today comes from Matthew, (Mt 6: 7-15), from the Sermon on the Mount, and presents us with the words of the Lord’s Prayer, that were adopted by the Church and are familiar to all.
​“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Jesus makes it quite clear from the start that prayer isn’t a matter of many words. No criticism here of the scribes and Pharisees, but of the pagans, an interesting fact. The prayer Jesus is about to teach them is short and to the point. It is a model of Christian prayer
“Our Father in heaven,
may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test,
but save us from the evil one.”
This is the translation found in the Jerusalem Bible: all translations are slightly different as they use modern English rather than the traditional translation we use in the liturgy. All true prayer takes place within the Body of Christ, the Church, hence ‘we’ and not ‘I’. We pray as a community, in communion with one another, and in praying for one person, we pray for all people. Prayer is always inclusive, never exclusive. The first half of the prayer recognises the majesty of God, who wishes to share his life with us, his children. It also expresses our desire that his will be done in us as it is done in the saints and angels who see him face to face. Only then do we pray for our essential needs, for forgiveness and protection from the evil within and around us. The only word of explanation that Jesus offers on the prayer is the following: “Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.” God’s gift of forgiveness is dependent on our ability and willingness to forgive those who offend us. Prayer, then, is not a passive repetition of beautiful words and pious thoughts, but the reflection of a life that is dedicated to doing God’s will and sharing his gifts. The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we must seek to be holy as our Father in heaven is holy.
​When we say the prayer that Jesus taught us, it’s important to say each phrase slowly, with reverence and focussing on each word. Don’t be afraid to go back over a phrase and repeat it. Our prayer must descend from our head, our lips and our tongue into our heart and soul, into the very marrow of our being. It must transform us into what God wants us to be, his beloved daughters and sons, intimately united in communion with him, our God and Father.
From Francis to Leo: A special event with Christopher Lamb of CNN in conversation with Austin Ivereigh who commentated for the BBC on the transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo.
On 12th June an Ecumenical Service was held at Hereford Cathedral to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.
Archbishop Mark O'Toole, of Cardiff-Menevia presided at the Requiem Mass for Bishop Mark, while Abbot Brendan conducted his burial. Cardinal Vincent Nichols preached a homily full of warmth and affection for Bishop Mark which is reproduced below.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB RIP Given at his funeral by Dom Alexander Kenyon Baby Jean Pierre (Mark) Jabale was born on October 16th, 1933, in Alexandria, Egypt. As he said, himself, his background could be considered “cosmopolitan”: his father was Lebanese / French and his Mother, British / Greek / French. He also reminded people that he wasn’t Egyptian. Through his mother, Arlette, he was related to St. Jean Vianney, so it was, perhaps, no surprise that he followed in his priestly footsteps. His father, Jean, was MD of Fiat and Simca cars Europe and, maybe surprisingly or not, he did love a car – not, however, Italian cars, but German; he loved his Audis. Perhaps we should begin today by remembering his mother and father, his brothers Christian and Paul and his nieces, here today, Aline and Nathalie and Isabelle and their families – they were so dear to him and he to them and I know they miss him enormously. Young Jean wanted to join the Navy and came to England, to Belmont Abbey school but the Lord had other ideas – he ended up joining the rather land locked monastery, our dear, late Fr. Raymund opining that he wouldn’t last a month. After a rather uninspiring course of priestly studies (his words, not mine) he studied for a Licentiate in French literature in Fribourg, then a Dip Ed at Strawberry Hill and played Rugby there – the Papist Witch Doctor as he was affectionately known. Teaching followed, at Belmont, Housemaster, acting Headmaster, then to Alderwasley, our prep school in Derbyshire as Headmaster, and then back to Belmont soon after as Headmaster. In 1983 he went to Peru to build our first monastery there only to realise there was little money. So, he returned to the UK to put in a stint of fundraising with his usual zeal and determination. With his mission accomplished he was asked by Abbot Alan to return to Belmont as his prior in 1986 – Peru remained close to his heart. In 1993 he was elected Abbot. In his time as Abbot, he had to preside over the closure of the school, necessary but no less painful for him. In 2000 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Menevia and succeeded Bishop Mullins in 2001. He retired as Ordinary in 2008 and “retired” to Chipping Norton as parish priest, then Hendon, saying Mass for the nuns and helping with confirmations. After a spell at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, living with his great friend Cardinal Nichols, he came home to Belmont – it was as though he had never been away and he loved being back in the monastery, particularly praying the Office with the community. That’s the list, of sorts, but it doesn’t really say “who” he was. I haven’t mentioned his outstanding contribution to rowing – the 1979 coxless, lightweight four gold medal at the world championships in Bled, which almost didn’t happen as, at the last minute, he was told there was no money to send the crew. He begged, cajoled and got them there – the video footage of the final is compelling. He transformed Henley Royal Regatta, writing a computer programme for the race results – he was well ahead of his time. He coached the Oxford Boat, ran the Heads of the River Schools Regatta, and more. What an achievement from someone who had never sat in a boat but learned on the job, as he said, “from books, mainly”. It was his determination, his commitment, his love of people and his drive to share what he had that is, perhaps, one of the key things to celebrate about him. And it was underpinned by his rock-solid faith – nothing overly pious, nothing showy, but a faith and a love of the Lord built on granite. Even his occasional lack of patience (sorry Mark) extended to that faith; ‘why won’t God call me?”. At the risk of being irreverent my response was always “would you want you?”. But God did want him, and he knew it. God had a purpose for his Apostle during his life and he now rests with Him in eternity. His purpose was, simply, to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of others, in many and varied ways. A few weeks before Mark died, Pope Francis died. When the late Pope was seriously ill the son of friends of mine who entertained Mark and I to lunch regularly, was distraught at overhearing mum and dad say the Pope may die. He couldn’t stop crying. “But darling”, they said, “you don’t know the Pope, why so very sad?”. “We do know him” came the reply, “it’s Mark”. “No, Mark isn’t the Pope”. “Oh, so when the Pope does die will Mark be Pope then?”. Mark loved that one. When Mark himself did die said son would only be pacified by picking flowers from the garden and bringing them to church for him. He wanted to show how much Mark meant to him and wanted to give a little something back. That is the real biography – a man loved, respected, a man who shared what he had, above all his faith, a man who touched so many lives and made them better.  Rest in peace our dear friend.
Our brethren in Peru were delighted with the election of Pope Leo.
